How Ryan Tannehill Has Gone from Nearly Benched to Budding Star

Joe Philbin stood there taking questions at a press conference like a human target facing a gaggle of knife throwers.

It was the day after his Miami Dolphins took a bad loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3. The trouble had started before then, however.

After a big opening-week victory against the New England Patriots, the Dolphins sputtered offensively against the Buffalo Bills. His team had wilted early, unable to generate anything on offense to the point where Philbin felt too queasy to try to score before halftime, electing to run the clock out instead. 

Miami ultimately lost the game 29-10, and the heat was on. Mustering just 15 points against the Chiefs at home the following Sunday cranked it up to boiling point.

“We’ll utilize the players the best way we see fit,” the Miami Dolphins head coach told reporters the following Monday, per The Palm Beach Post's Andrew Abramson.

He was responding to a question about whether third-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill or veteran backup Matt Moore would start in London the following week. Philbin's non-answer wasn't exactly a vote of confidence for his quarterback.

It was the answer that launched a thousand takes, many of them of the high-temperature variety. Was this the beginning of the end for Tannehill? Had the Dolphins struck out yet again 15 years into their quest to find stability at the quarterback position?

Or was Philbin merely being a shrewd motivator, lighting a fire under his quarterback to incite a response? 

"

Per @RapSheet on Around The NFL: Dolphins are "actually considering" benching Tannehill for Matt Moore. Not just a motivational ploy.

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) September 22, 2014"

If that was his ploy all along despite rumors to the contrary, Philbin looks like a genius five weeks later. Either way, Tannehill has gone on a tear ever since that fateful press conference. 

Week	Opp	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Rate	Rush	Yds	Y/A
1	NE	18	32	56.2%	178	2	1	79.9	3	-2	-0.67
2	BUF	31	49	63.3%	241	1	1	73.6	4	11	2.75
3	KAN	21	43	48.8%	205	1	0	70.4	1	9	9
	Totals	70	124	56.5%	624	4	2	74.1	8	18	2.25
4	OAK	23	31	74.2%	278	2	1	109.3	5	35	7
6	GNB	20	31	64.5%	244	2	2	83.3	3	49	16.33
7	CHI	25	32	78.1%	277	2	0	123.6	6	48	8
8	JAX	16	29	55.2%	196	1	1	73.3	5	48	9.6
9	SDG	24	34	70.6%	288	3	0	125.6	4	47	11.75
	Totals	108	157	68.8%	1283	10	4	104.1	23	227	9.9

His run of quality play culminated in a masterful performance against the San Diego Chargers, a 37-0 thrashing by the Dolphins largely due to the fact Tannehill was out there looking like Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers.

"

That play — JUST THAT PLAY — was Aaron Rodgers-esque. #tannehill

— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) November 2, 2014"

"

Ryan Tannehill is playing outstanding football. Seeing the field, buying time and delivering strikes.

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) November 2, 2014"

Tannehill had been teetering on the edge of a dominant performance for some time, as evidenced by his strong run leading up to that performance. He was playing well, but was still plagued by inconsistency.

His first-half performance against the Green Bay Packers was abysmal, for example. Tannehill bounced back quickly, however. He came out firing in the second half and nearly led his team to a comeback victory before Rodgers spoiled it with a last-second touchdown to win the game.

He also couldn't get much going against the Jacksonville Jaguars, though he didn't really have to with his defense scoring touchdowns. His offensive line did him no favors there, either.

Tannehill finally put it all together against the Chargers.

"

Don't think we'll hear any more rumors of #Dolphins benching Ryan Tannehill in '14. Seeing it all come together: arm, athleticism, accuracy.

— SN's Vinnie Iyer (@vinnieiyer) November 2, 2014"

Extrapolating from the past five weeks, Tannehill is on pace to complete 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,960 yards and 30 touchdowns to go along with 608 rushing yards. That may seem a bit lofty despite his strong run. 

How did we get here?

Palatable Pass-Blocking

The Dolphins began the 2013 season with Jonathan Martin and Tyson Clabo starting at offensive tackle. Let that sink in for a moment.

Not surprisingly, one of the offseason charges for the Miami front office was to improve that woeful offensive front from a year ago.

The offensive line was abysmal all around for the Dolphins in 2013, and Tannehill bore the brunt of its brutality. He was sacked a team record 58 times, at times unable to get into any offensive rhythm whatsoever.

New general manager Dennis Hickey set about fixing that during the offseason, signing offensive tackle Branden Albert to a big deal and drafting Ja'wuan James in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. 

He also drafted offensive guard Billy Turner in the third round and signed Shelley Smith away from the St. Louis Rams.

The makeover was complete. So everything was fixed, right?

Early on, that wasn't necessarily the case. A reconstructed offensive line doesn't just gel with a handful of offseason workouts, training camp and a few preseason games, after all.

More importantly, Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey—now featured at the guard position—was injured during the offseason, which threw Miami's new-look offensive line into a bit of disarray. The Dolphins had to sign center Samson Satele off the scrap heap to compensate.

Satele has been competent enough to keep his job, which has allowed the Dolphins to shore up the guard position by putting Pouncey there. It hasn't been perfect, but the line has come together in a big way for Tannehill and the entire offense.

Season	Rank	Pass Plays	Sacks	Hits	Hurries	Total QB Pressures	Pass Blocking Efficiency
2014	10	308	12	17	37	66	83
2013	19	667	41	39	114	194	76.6

The rest of the line has been solid, meanwhile, particularly the rookie right tackle. James recently made NFL.com's midseason all-rookie team, an honor magnified by the fact the Dolphins' first-round pick was widely panned.

Albert, meanwhile, has been a rock at left tackle, worth every penny of that $47 million contract.

Completing the Arsenal

Tannehill's rookie season was stunted for several reasons, but one stuck out more than the rest—the Dolphins lacked playmakers on offense.

Before Miami even selected its new quarterback with the No. 8 pick of the 2012 draft, stud receiver Brandon Marshall was traded away for a pair of third-round picks by then-general manager Jeff Ireland in an attempt to exorcise an off-field problem.

It was a "career-saving" trade for Marshall, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra, and he has since turned his life around and become a reliably great receiver for the Bears.

Meanwhile, Tannehill got his NFL career started with Brian Hartline as his No. 1 receiver and Anthony Fasano as his top tight end.

That is no longer the case.

The Dolphins spent big money to bring receiver Mike Wallace over from the Pittsburgh Steelers last year. Inking him to a $60 million deal was a controversial move at the time, given he isn't a prototypical No. 1 receiver.

Still, Wallace has proven to be a valuable commodity for Tannehill and the Dolphins, even if he never lives up to his contract. That deep connection is still a work in progress, and he drops too many passes, but it's inarguable that Wallace has been an improvement

After all, he has scored 10 times as many touchdowns with the Dolphins as Hartline did in Tannehill's rookie season. 

Charles Clay has become one of Tannehill's favorite targets as he has developed from a sixth-round flier to a starting-caliber tight end. He got off to a slow start this season due to injury, and getting fully healthy has been a boon for Miami in recent weeks.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Perhaps the biggest impact in Tannehill's improved arsenal has come from a rookie receiver lost in the shuffle of a great class—Jarvis Landry.

The rookie out of LSU has proven to be a sure-handed commodity with playmaking ability, as evidenced by his tightrope touchdown along the sideline last week against the Chargers. Landry actually played the second-most offensive snaps at receiver as Miami's trust in the second-round pick continues to grow.

Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Landry averaged 47.8 percent of offensive snaps through the first three games of the season. That number is up to 60.5 percent over the past five games, culminating with nearly 72 percent of the offensive plays last week.

His sure-handedness has probably come as a relief. Dolphins skill players were dropping all sorts of passes—from touchdowns to deep shots to third-down conversions—through the first several weeks of the season. Better hands have helped Tannehill's accuracy numbers, to be sure.

Perhaps Landry was the final piece of the skill position puzzle in Miami.

Running Man

One of the frustrations surrounding the mediocre Dolphins offense centered around now-exiled offensive coordinator Mike Sherman.

His play-calling was predictable, and it seemed Tannehill's development was slow-going despite the fact Sherman was his head coach in college. What seemed like an advantage in the continuity Tannehill supposedly had from college to the pros turned out to be a talent trap.

Sherman was not maximizing Tannehill's potential.

Things didn't seem too different under offensive coordinator Bill Lazor to start the season. A promising preseason reverted to predictability in the first few weeks of the season, and the Dolphins rarely got Tannehill on the move, where he has proven to be deadly.

After the Week 3 loss to the Chiefs, however, Lazor got wise to his quarterback's abilities. Or at least he figured out how to use them.

You may have noted earlier that Tannehill ran the ball for a total of eight times for 18 yards through the first three games of the season. There were no designed runs, and featuring Tannehill on the move didn't seem to be a priority.

Starting with the Raiders game in London, however, Lazor began to utilize his athletic quarterback in creative and productive ways. 

The read-option became a bona fide weapon, and Tannehill has run it with aplomb. The offense isn't centered around it like a gimmick or a crutch, but Miami has been able to keep its opponents off balance by utilizing it to great effect.

More importantly to his development, offensive scheme has helped sustain drives and get Tannehill into grooves. 

Tannehill now has 20-yard runs in each of the past four games—the only player in the league to do so—and 227 rushing yards over his past five contests.

His experience handling the football a receiver in college is paying off in the pros.

Lazor tweaked the offense beginning with the Raiders game, and it has sparked the transformation we have seen over the past six weeks.

The Man Himself

Of course, all the improvements in the surrounding environments would amount to diddly if the player doesn't develop. This is where Tannehill has taken himself to a new level.

Despite flashes of his potential over the first couple of seasons, Tannehill has been unable to sustain any sort of success. 

Even earlier this season, shaky pocket presence lingered. Those 58 sacks he suffered last season weren't all on his offensive line—Tannehill had a tendency to hang on to the ball too long at times, and he lacked the pocket presence to avoid the pass rush at others.

Some of those tendencies were on display earlier this season, but a major improvement in that area over the past several weeks has quickened his development.

The young quarterback has had the added mentorship of a Hall of Famer—Dolphins legendary quarterback Dan Marino, per Alain Poupart of Dolphins.com:

"

Tannehill said he’s had the chance to sit down and watch film with Marino on a couple of occasions, and he said it definitely was something from which he could benefit. 

“It’s cool,” Tannehill said. “I appreciate the knowledge he has of the game, just little insights that he can point out and just him being around showing that he cares, it’s nice. 

“He’s always just pointing out little things on tape, whether it’s a receiver’s routes or something I’m doing. He’s good at picking up little things and passing them along.” 

"

Every little bit counts, and it's difficult to imagine many tutors better suited to give Tannehill an edge as a passer than Marino.

Perhaps Marino has been the reason why Tannehill has been doing the little things that make big differences—things like progressing through multiple reads, climbing the pocket and identifying blitzes. His adroit execution against the Chargers was proof. 

If there is one niggling issue with Tannehill's game through his recent success it's his inconsistent deep ball—his accuracy on passes that travel 20-plus yards in the air is in the dumps at 34.6 percent, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

That hasn't been much of an issue for his overall performance over the past five weeks, however. Besides, like everything else, his deep ball seems to be improving, as we saw on his 50-yard dime on the run to Wallace against the Jaguars.

"

Lazor on Tannehill: "There's no teacher like experience." And that experience has made him better.

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) November 3, 2014"

"

I say this with some severe trepidation, but Ryan Tannehill may have figured it out.

— SI_DougFarrar (@SI_DougFarrar) November 2, 2014"

“I’m absolutely not afraid,” Lazor said, per Abramson, during that fateful press conference. “There is no panic. I feel like I’m fielding questions based on panic, but hopefully you feel from me that there is no panic.”

Good thing someone kept his wits about him.

Of course, all the gushing about Tannehill could dry up rather quickly. The warm and fuzzy feelings can quickly turn hot and prickly if he regresses in the second half of the season. 

Hot streak or not, Miami's suddenly hot quarterback must maintain the focus and drive he has exhibited over the past several weeks if he is going to sustain success.

It's never easy in the NFL, but his task becomes taller over the next several weeks as he faces tougher defensive opponents in the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and a Bills team that has had his number throughout his career.

Turning a hot streak into the new normal might finally expunge the doubts that still surround the third-year quarterback. If Tannehill plays the way he has over the past six weeks, the NFL may have a budding star on its hands. 

Follow @AlexMiglio